A muscle-weakening condition reported by some patients after Covid vaccination is a neurological disorder and can be treated with therapy, scientists say.
Several videos showing patients suffering leg spasms after their jab have amassed millions of views online and it’s feared they have been seized upon by anti-vaxxers.
The most recent clip, which emerged today, showed Georgia-Rose Segal, a 34-year-old from London, nearly collapsing on her kitchen floor after her second Pfizer jab.
She revealed she had been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which affects how the brain sends signals to the body.
While the symptoms of FND are real, they are not directly caused by the effect of vaccines, according to scientists writing in the medical journal JAMA Neurology Viewpoint.
They said FND can be triggered by a range of physical or emotional events, including a head injury, surgery or a jab.
Instead of being directly caused by these events, FND is normally triggered by the emotional reaction that accompanies them, including stress and anxiety.
People who have suffered trauma at previous points in their life or who have underlying conditions are at an increased risk of developing FND.
Dr David Perez, director of the Functional Neurological Disorders Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), wrote in JAMA: ‘The spread of these videos could fuel vaccine hesitancy by giving an overly simplistic impression of potential links between the vaccine and major neurological symptoms.
‘Instead, these are symptoms of a real, brain-based disorder that sits at the intersection of neurology and psychiatry.’
In one of the posts, Instagram user Georgia-Rose Segal, 34, is seen struggling to walk before nearly collapsing on to a kitchen floor
FND is not exclusive to Covid vaccination and is not a reaction to an ingredient in the jab.
It has been reported in response to other jabs, as well as in patients given saline solution.
Until recently FND was called ‘conversion disorder’ because medics thought patients were converting stress into physical symptoms.
Stress and uncertainty about the vaccines, as well as the physical side effects of the jab – such as flu-like symptoms and pain at the injection – may increase the risk of a person developing the condition.
FND can impact movement and concentration, cause seizures and impact how the body processes senses like touch and sound. Treatment includes physical rehab, and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Ms Segal announced yesterday that she had been released from hospital, and shared a photo of her using a Zimmer frame. The original video of her struggling to walk was uploaded onto Instagram account Imjustbait.
Recent figured have revealed that while infections among young adults have soared to a record high, vaccine uptake has slowed to a fraction of what it was in the spring.
One in three 18-to-29 year olds have still not had a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, NHS England figures show. But the virus is running rampant in this age group, with more than one in 100 aged 20 to 29 testing positive last week.
Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said people could be ‘nudged’ to get jabbed but must not feel they are being forced into it.
Asked if the Government should use vaccine passports as a way of encouraging younger people to have their jabs, he told radio station LBC: ‘It has to be done really quite carefully.
‘If people begin to feel they are being kind of forced against their will to do something, then in a sense that’s quite a damaging thing to do because it gives people the impression vaccination is something being imposed on them.
‘Nudging can be done but it has to be done in a way that people don’t feel they are being pushed into something they don’t want to do.’ The professor of paediatrics at Bristol University warned that young people are getting ‘seriously ill’ from coronavirus and he urged them to have their jabs.
He said there have been close to 200 admissions, with an average age of 40, in the city during the current wave caused by the spread of the Delta, or Indian, variant. ‘We have had people under 30 on our intensive care unit and also requiring high-level oxygen therapy,’ he added.
The video of Ms Segal appears to be fuelling anti-vaxxer sentiment on Instagram.
One comment from an account which has 86,000 followers said: ‘This is why I have not got it yet, I’ll get it if it’s life and death but mans had covid and got over it like a cold and no one gave man a vaccine for my cold.’
Another, from a user with 20,000 followers, read: ‘And this is the s*** they’re trying to force into everyone’s bodies… no thanks, had worse colds than Covid.’
Under plans being considered by the Government, football fans who are not fully vaccinated could be barred from attending Premier League matches from October.
Boris Johnson yesterday faced further criticism from backbench Conservatives who were already opposed to plans to introduce vaccine passports for entry into nightclubs this autumn.
Talks are in an early phase with the Premier League to discuss whether supporters who have not been double-jabbed could be barred from entry, it is understood.
The use of vaccine passports could also be extended to lower divisions and other sports in England as ministers seek to reduce the surge in Covid cases as other restrictions are ended.
While no final decisions have been made, it is being discussed whether vaccine passports could be introduced for seated events with a capacity of 20,000 and over.
In unseated events such as music gigs, where there are greater concerns about strangers mingling and spreading Covid, the threshold for their introduction could be as low as 5,000.
The Football Supporters’ Association, which has more than half a million members, warned that some fans may stop attending matches ‘unless this is managed very carefully’.
Its chairman, Malcolm Clarke, told Times Radio: ‘I’m not convinced that all football clubs will be able to manage [checks on vaccine passports] in a way that doesn’t cause some chaos.’
But the Prime Minister would face a battle to get legislation mandating their use through the Commons, with many backbench Tories vehemently against them.